Badgers take on IowaWisconsin (11-9) kicks off the Big Ten Conference season with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, March 24-25. The Badgers will face the Hawkeyes in a doubleheader on Saturday before playing a single-game on Sunday.

Know the foeThe Iowa Hawkeyes are 10-15 heading into Big Ten play. The team is coming off of a pair of losses to No. 10 Missouri on Wednesday night.

Leading Iowa is freshman infielder Megan Blank. Blank records a .423 batting average and has started every game for the Hawkeyes at shortstop. She leads in hits with 30, slugging percentage with a .620, and runs with 16. Senior second basemen Katie Keim comes in second with a .329 batting average.

Iowa pitchers rank fourth in the Big Ten, tallying a 2.42 ERA. Leading Iowa is sophomore Kayla Massey, recording a 2.39 ERA in 82.0 innings of work. She has struck out 53 batters and has pitched 11 complete games this season with a 5-7 record. Not close behind is junior Chelsea Lyon, with 76.2 innings pitched and 10 complete games. Lyon records a 2.47 ERA with 48 strikeouts and is 5-8 this season.

Game NotesComplete softball game notes in printable PDF format

Badgers vs HawkeyesIowa owns the all-time series with a 28-9 record against the Badgers. In 2011, Wisconsin traveled to Bob Pearl Softball Field and swept the two-game series, recording its first wins against Iowa since 2007.

Wisconsin last kicked off Big Ten play against Iowa in 2003, falling 4-2 and 8-1 in Iowa City.

Last time outWisconsin competed in the Gaucho Classic II Mar. 16-18 in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Badgers went 1-2 in the tournament, as Saturday’s games were rained out. The tournament marked the end of Wisconsin’s five-week non-conference schedule.

Darrah’s pitching near perfectionSophomore Cassandra Darrah allowed just one run in 13 innings of work at the Gaucho Classic II. Darrah pitched two complete games, including a complete-game shutout win over UC Santa Barbara. Darrah recorded a 0.54 ERA, scattering six hits and striking out 10 batters, while improving to 7-4 this season.

Van Abel leads Big TenFreshman center fielder Maria Van Abel leads the Big Ten for the second week in a row with a .478 batting average. Van Abel is currently on a seven-game hitting streak after recording a .556 batting average and five hits this past weekend. Overall, the freshman has scored 10 runs on 22 hits in 46 at-bats.

Wisconsin in the Big TenThe team’s batting is tied for sixth with Minnesota, posting an average of .281. Leading team batting is Purdue with a .328.

Wisconsin’s team fielding ranks sixth with a .955 fielding percentage. The Badgers rank second in double-plays with nine so far this season. Wisconsin records the least number of steals against, only allowing three in 20 games.

The Badger pitchers rank fifth in the conference posting a 2.63 team ERA. Wisconsin pitchers also have thrown the least amount of wild pitches, only recording five on the season.

Darrah is sixth in individual pitching with a 2.48 ERA in 11 appearances and holds a 7-4 record. Junior Meghan McIntosh ranks tenth with a 2.66 ERA.

The team leads the Big Ten in sac bunts with 23, ahead of Michigan with 22. Wisconsin also ranks third in stolen bases with 35.

Spence ranked second in nation for sac fliesWith four sacrifice flies this season, junior Molly Spence ranks second amongst NCAA Division I softball players. Spence tallied two sac flies in the game against San Diego on Saturday, Mar. 10, a UW single-game record.

Stealing national spotlight Wisconsin ranks 23rd nationally in stolen bases per game, averaging 1.75 steals per game. As a team the Badgers are 35-for-48 on stolen base attempts, while Marshall leads the nation with 3.12 steals per game.

Turning up the heat on offenseIn the five games at the Wolf Pack Softball Classic, Wisconsin recorded 42 runs on 61 hits. Badger hitters bombed six homers, four of which came from Molly Spence. Shannel Blackshear and Whitney Massey each recorded one home run on the weekend.

Wisconsin against ranked opponentsIn the nine losses that the Badgers have recorded this year, six have been to ranked opponents or opponents receiving votes. Wisconsin fell to No. 23/23 (NFCA coaches/ESPN) Florida State twice and 22/22 South Florida. Kansas, Maryland and Oklahoma State have also recieved votes in national polls.